Whole salmon grading and distribution system - Marel

Whole salmon grading
and distribution system
Seamless product flow
Improves performance
Controls logistics
Shortens processing time
Full traceability

Whole salmon grading
and distribution system
Building on over 30 years of experience working in teampartnerships
with fish processors large and small worldwide, Marel
has gained extensive knowledge in developing innovative
processing solutions to fulfill the ever-changing needs of seafood
processors.
Marel is now introducing a highly advanced whole-salmon
grading and distribution system that features a seamless flow of
salmon product all the way from slaughtering through processing
to dispatching.
It is the most advanced and innovative distribution system that
Marel has ever developed for salmon. The system’s remarkably
high level of automation ensures flexible processing capacity
to meet seasonal- or order-book highs and lows – without
pressures to increase or decrease the workforce.
The comprehensive system consists of two distinct
processing areas: a gutting area, and a packing and
distribution area. In addition, the complete system is
powered by Marel’s INNOVA production management
software, which enables managerial overview and control of
every stage of the production process.
The system can handle an average of 120 fish per minute, or
about 55,000 fish daily.
Gutting area
After slaughtering, salmon enters the gutting area where quality inspectors feed them into a dual-lane
gutting grader. The grader weighs to high accuracy, and then directs the right size and quality of fish to
the optimal gutting machines based on fixed-rate function, which ensures the optimal performance of
gutting machines. The feeding into the gutters is fully automatic.
By combining the optimized distribution of fish with automatic feeding into the gutting machines,
overall performance of the gutting process is considerably improved. Moreover, the need for manual
labor is significantly reduced - only one supervisor is needed to oversee the entire gutting system.
The system has a capacity of up to 120 fish/min, and easily handles the combined output rate of the
seven gutting machines.
Packing and distribution area
The gutted fish enters the packing area. Salmon then pass through quality control where they are
examined for any defects in appearance, before entering the whole-fish packing and distribution grader.
The highly advanced grading and distribution system automatically controls the distribution of each fish,
directing it to the optimum process, for example freezing, filleting, or to the automatic box filling station for
whole gutted salmon.
The distribution is based on weight and quality, and it is also possible to apply the condition factor
(K-factor) to direct specially designated fish to pre-determined processing stations. This can be of great
value for the filleting process where fish of similar condition (size) will provide improved yield and quality of
finished products.
With all of the plant’s logistics operating on Marel’s Innova production management software, the
distribution to the various processes will also be matched to purchase orders.
The system handles up to 120 fish/minute, and box packing has a capacity of up to 28 boxes per minute.

Packing and distribution grader
• Distribution control to different processes
• K-factor optimized yield management
• Capacity: up to 120 fish/min, 28 boxes/min
Elevator to palletizing
Rework station
Box packing
Automatic infeed of branded boxes. Boxes
automatically fed to match batches from grader
and pre-defined target weight based on PO (28
boxes/minute)
Whole fish grader
Distributes up to 120 fish/min to
different processes and creates batches
of whole fish based on PO
Ergonomic infeed
Up to four quality inspectors feed
fish into gutting grader
Dynamic weighing
For weight grading of each fish

Seamless flow of salmon product all
the way from slaughtering through
processing to dispatching.
Palletizing
Robots automatically load boxes
on pallets according to PO
Ergonomic infeed
Up to four quality inspectors
feeding fish into grader
Cooling tank
Manual gutting
Automatic gutting
Fish slides gently, correctly aligned into infeed
buffer from where it is automatically fed into
the gutting machine
If the gutting machine misses or rejects a fish,
the machine will automatically pause while
the fish is re-directed to manual gutting
Gutting grader
Grading
• Fully automatic infeed into gutters
• Optimised utilisation of gutters
• Capacity: up to 120 fish/min
Dual-lane gutting grader directs fish
to the optimal gutting machine,
based on fixed rate function

Customer corner
Bremnes, Norway
When Norwegian salmon processor Bremnes Seashore embarked on a
major upgrade of its Bømlo plant, the project included a whole salmon
grading and distribution system, the most advanced distribution system
that Marel has ever installed in a salmon factory.
Bremnes was founded in 1937 on the island of Bømlo
just off Norway’s southwest coast as a seaweed
reception plant. Since 1958, the company has been
producing farmed salmon, and is a pioneer in Norway’s
aquaculture industry. Today, Bremnes operates salmon
farms at 22 locations in the Stavanger-Hardanger
region, processing some 250 tons of live salmon daily
– into 100 different products sold worldwide, many of
them under the company’s own multi-award winning
Salma and Bømlo brands.
Achieving optimum quality
“The main reasons behind the upgrade are to boost
production capacity of gutted salmon, and to expand
production of value-added products, such as fillets,
while maintaining our focus on high-quality wholefish
products,” says Vidar Helvik, Bremnes Seashore
Processing Manager.
“For salmon processors, speed and temperature are
essential to achieving optimum product quality and
consistency. To ensure this,” adds Vidar Helvik, “fish are
kept at a constant year-round temperature before being
slaughtered, and high-speed processing keeps them at
a quality-retaining low temperature.
A powerful combination
The equipment, as well as all of the plant’s logistics, operates
with Marel’s INNOVA production management software,
which provides managerial overview and control of every
stage of the production process, including quality control,
order processing and packing. At the same time, INNOVA
provides Bremnes’ customers with complete traceability for
every fish – from the time they are hatched until they leave
the factory as a processed product.
“The new system gives us the option of processing several
different types of products at the same time, resulting in
an uninterrupted flow of product on-line, while INNOVA
provides us with logistics relating to production planning,
packing, labeling and registration for a variety of purposes,
among them traceability,” explains Bremnes Seashore COO,
Bjørn Willy Sæverud.
He continues: “Each fish that leaves our factory can be traced
back to the egg from which it was hatched, and the labeling
on our boxes has bar-coded data on a host of details, for
example size, quality, tracking number, packing date/plant
and shelf life, among other key information.“
“Our objective is supplying higher-quality products for
customers worldwide, with a stronger mix of valueadded
products. Marel equipment and software play a
key role in these efforts.”

Empowered by INNOVA
Marel’s INNOVA production management software solution is the
backbone to its entire whole-fish grading and distribution system.
It enables managers full control and comprehensive details of every step of the production process, from slaughter to
dispatch, including order processing and planning, quality control and logistics management.
Throughout the entire process, INNOVA:
• collects and registers relevant data such as flow and rate of production.
• enables monitoring online, in real time, of key performance indicators such as yield, throughput and quality.
• includes order processing (PO) software that oversees precise specifications on factors such as size, weight, quality,
packing requirements, ice dosing and other critical parameters.
• has an integrated automatic alarm monitoring function that oversees all alerts and incidents along the line, which helps
to significantly reduce downtime.
The continuous and reliable data collection also ensures full traceability of the products, throughout the entire production
process. This function enables operators to trace products back to their original source, thereby minimizing the risk of
large recalls. The system also supports quality inspection points as set up in the process according to the plant’s quality
specifications. INNOVA’s built-in traceability and quality functions enable salmon processors to keep in step with food
safety regulations and increased demands on quality assurance within the industry.
Information automatically generated by INNOVA helps plant operators to identify opportunities for processing
improvements. Ultimately, INNOVA empowers salmon processors to optimize their overall plant performance.
“Sitting here at my screen, I can monitor fish as it
passes through the factory and see exactly what’s
going on in real time. If there are any unexpected
hitches or delays likely to affect delivery schedules,
I can react to them immediately, or even see them
coming before they actually occur. INNOVA has
also made prioritizing orders for dispatching much
simpler and effective,” says Anne Meling Brathen,
Logistics Department, Bremnes Seashore.
Subject to change without notice / 850-5000-36310 / Marel hf. / Jan.2013